Direct payment recipients and self-funders must be fully involved in the negotiation of fair pay agreements (FPAs) for adult social care staff, a disability rights leader has urged.
Clenton Farquharson, who draws on social care himself, raised concerns that people receiving support would be excluded from decision making in relation to FPAs, despite bearing some of the costs of their implementation.
Farquharson, associate director of Think Local Act Personal, the sector coalition that promotes the personalisation of care and support, made the comments at last week's National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), in a panel session on the development of FPAs.
Fair pay agreement negotiating body
In England, the agreements will be determined by a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB), established by the current Employment Rights Bill, with similar bodies due to be set up for Wales and Scotland.Under the bill, the body's membership must include unions representing social care staff and representatives of sector employers.
The government has proposed that the Care Provider Alliance (CPA), which comprises 10 associations of independent or voluntary sector providers, co-ordinate employer representation on the ASCNB.
In a consultation on the plans, the Department of Health and Social Care said the CPA would "assess potential members against criteria including sector experience, representative legitimacy, expertise and having a collaborative approach". It would also "need to work with those parts of the sector that it does not represent".
Concerns over direct payment recipients
The latter includes the approximately 67,000 direct payment recipients who employ their own staff, and who would be bound by the terms of any fair pay agreement, in relation to improvements to the terms and conditions of their personal assistants (PAs).
Councils have been given £500m to implement additional costs they face from the first FPA, in 2028-29, but Farquharson said individual employers risked being "squeezed" unless their direct payments were boosted to cover the improved terms and conditions.
He said the government needed to create a "funded route for individual employers" into the process of negotiating FPAs to ensure direct payment uplifts reflected any increased costs they would face in paying their PAs.
While the government is providing funding to enable councils to cover the increased costs they will face as a result of FPAs, in terms of provider fees and direct payments, no such provision exists for self-funders.
Impact on self-funders
According to the DHSC's impact assessment on the reform, self-funders could face increased costs of £200m in 2028-29 from the implementation of the first FPA, due to providers raising their fees to cover their increased costs."In some cases, this may result in individuals delaying or reducing their use of formal care services, relying more heavily on unpaid care from family or friends in place," the impact assessment said. "This may place additional pressure on unpaid carers and informal support networks, with associated social costs."
Farquharson highlighted the risks of self-funders going without the care they needed, warning that they were "very sensitive to fee increases".
He suggested that the ASCNB have a co-chair who drew upon care and support, adding: "We have to have a seat at the table, not on the menu."
Potential exclusion of council and NHS staff
Among the issues being considered as part of the consultation, which closes on 16 January 2025, is whether FPAs should cover adult social care staff working for councils or the NHS, given most of them are covered by existing national agreements on terms and conditions.Should they be covered, the Local Government Association (LGA) and NHS Employers will be represented on the employers' side of the ASCNB. However, if they are not, there will be no seat for local government on the body, despite the fact that councils will be liable for the majority of costs arising from the FPAs.
This position is being challenged by both the LGA and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).
Speaking on behalf of ADASS at the NCASC session, Tandra Forster, the director of integrated adult care at Devon council, said it "felt like an omission not to have councils, as the major commissioners of care, around the table".
Fair pay agreement 'is not one-off'
She also reiterated concerns from ADASS, the LGA and several provider bodies that the £500m allocated for the first FPA would be insufficient, with think tank the Health Foundation calculating it would be worth 20p per hour if only spent on pay and divided evenly between England's approximately 1.6m adult social care staff.In response to such concerns, DHSC director general for adult social care Sally Warren said the 2028-29 FPA should not be seen in isolation.
"This is about creating a structure that will, every year, tackle different aspects of pay and reward. It's not a one-off event."
